“To the Falcon that cheapshotted Loeffler – I hope someone does the same s–t to you and knocks you out for the rest of the year too. A–hole,” Kluwe wrote. “Just watched the film and Cullen was ten yards behind the play; there was no call to do something like that. F–king douchepickle. . . . Imagine if a hit like that happened to Brady or Rogers. They’d be talking about banning the guy for life. On a snapper?”

As it turned out, on a snapper the punishment was a $20,000 fine. Which likely isn’t much consolation to Loeffler, the guy who had his season ended.

This video is not the best but it’s hard to see where the blocker went for the head…looked like he blocked the long snapper in the chest.

Once a longsnapper does his job and is pursuing down the field, he is no longer a helpless long snapper…he is a tackler, looking to take down the return man.

I realize Roger Goodell and the boys in the NFL offices are trying to fine the NFL players into making nice on the football field, but this is “tackle” football played at the highest level. I expect to see hard hitting and yes, sometimes, players get hurt.

That didn’t look like a dirty hit at all. Maybe there’s another view, but the hit wasn’t from behind (i.e., wasn’t a blindside hit), and it doesn’t appear to be in the head. Perhaps if a player doesn’t want to get blocked, the player shouldn’t chase after the ball carrier?

I enjoy Kluwe’s opinions on many topics, but here he’s just dead wrong. The snapper was very much in the play. In fact, if the returner cuts back to the inside he’s going to fall right into his lap… Nor was it a clip or a head-hunt. Just a good old-fashioned hard, clean play.

I know he’s pursuing the play, but what they’re really talking about is that you’re blindsiding some dude hoping to get on sportscenter, not trying to help your team, because this guy is so far from the play it’s not going to do anything. It like when the QB throwns a int and some linemen immediately jacks him up, just because he’s the QB.

Im not sure that I wanna live in a world where grown men take to the internet (this time via twitter) and pretend to be tough. This isnt an isolated incident. Pro Athletes do this all the time now… #twitterbeefisforchicks 🙂

Looks like NFL hierarchy have holiday gifts to purchase and Kerry Meier and numerous other players are buying them.

This hit was far from cheap or dirty, this is NFL football. Many players will tell you, when the ball is in play, your head must be on a swivel, if not, injuries occur, and on this play, a prime example.

I just had a flashback – it happened YEARS ago when the Colts played in Baltimore. They had a LB named Mike Curtis ‘The Mad Stork.’ During the game some idiot jumped out of the stands and ran on the field and Curtis knocked him silly.

Remember that?

If that happened today Curtis would probably get fined and the fan would sue for multi bux – and WIN.

He hit him with his shoulder into the chest. The dude looked like he was sand bagging it down the field anyway. This is the NFL! Yeah it sucks that he got hurt, but if you’re on special teams in the NFL you’d better keep your head on a swivel. This block in no way warrants a fine, if the guy wouldn’t have gotten injured this wouldn’t be a story because it was a clean block (nowhere near the head), albeit a hard block. It’s football, this kind of makes me sick… maybe Kluwe should spend less time on Twitter and more time practicing not punting to Devin Hester…

what a damn joke. Nothing at all wrong with that hit. Damn Goodell is determined to have a bunch of guys running around scared to hit each other. And dolphins4 what a dumbass statement but hey i guess you have to find something to talk about because dolphin football damn sure isnt too interesting

Did it draw a flag? Did the commentators talk about the hit for more than a minute?

It’s unfortunate that the player was injured, let alone for the rest of the season. I hope everything goes well for him.

As to those thinking it was dirty you obviously don’t watch much football. The only reason the fine came out was because the player is out for the rest of the season.

As to those thinking that he shouldn’t have been blocked you obviously didn’t watch what J. Allen was doing once he filled in. What was Meir supposed to do…tap him on the shoulder first and asked him if he minded taking a hit?

Again, sorry for the outcome but it wasn’t a dirty play let alone by a dirty player/team.

There was zero even remotely cheap about that hit. Sure, he was 30 yards from the play, but guess what? I bet if the punt returner got tangled up with a couple guys, and broke out, and then the snapper ended up getting into the play, the guy who dropped him would have been cut or ripped apart by his coaches for not taking out his assigned guy.

NFL is not only the No Fun League, it is now becoming the Need Flags League. This is a pathetic fine and I hope he appeals it and wins.

And Kluwe is just a stupid punter. I’m no Manning fan, but when he coined the term “stupid kicker” he probably should have included the punter as well.

The NFL is a mess. He didn’t block him in the back, it was a clean hit with no penalty. Some of these games are becoming un-watchable. It is too bad about the injury but, the players assume the risk by playing a rough game and getting paid a lot of money. Stop with fine garbage before the game is ruined.

I just had a flashback – it happened YEARS ago when the Colts played in Baltimore. They had a LB named Mike Curtis ‘The Mad Stork.’ During the game some idiot jumped out of the stands and ran on the field and Curtis knocked him silly.

Remember that?

If that happened today Curtis would probably get fined and the fan would sue for multi bux – and WIN.
—————————-
Totally agree w/ you. However Ted Hendricks was “The Mad Stork,” not Mike Curtis.

It wasn’t even a cheap shot. It’s obvious that the long snapper is Meier’s assignment if the return goes right. The punt return was to the right, and the long snapper went left following the punt. The hit was 10 yards behind the play because the long snapper is slower than the return man. Had the punt returner came back to the left the long snapper may have made the play. The long snapper makes a lot of plays on punt return, and the Falcons probably scouted that this guy goes down hell bent and they wanted to make sure he knew he wasn’t going to go scott free against the Falcons. I can bet that Houston’s long snapper will have his head on a swivel this Sunday.

I just had a flashback – it happened YEARS ago when the Colts played in Baltimore. They had a LB named Mike Curtis ‘The Mad Stork.’ During the game some idiot jumped out of the stands and ran on the field and Curtis knocked him silly.

That wasn’t a block in the back, so I don’t understand why there’s a fine… This will be appealed and over turned. The NFL just wanted to keep up appearances by issuing a bogus fine to appease all of the whiners out there.

This is a totally legal hit, similar to Warren Sapp’s block of the Packers lineman several years ago. And an unnecessary fine from the NFL in a season where the league is trying to change the definition of blocking and tackling.

This is a violent sport, period. Roger Goodell and his flackies are more worried about the being perceived as an uncaring profession than recognizing this is the nature of the game. Imagine the fine Chuck Bednarik would have received under the Goodell regime for his classic hit (and celebration) of Frank Gifford?

I think kluwe had a serious over reaction to this. Love his tweets, and whiteboard antics. They can be hilarious. But this was a serious over-reaction by him and Goodell.. I’ve watched it over and over, and to me, its the type of hit that get’s you noticed by special teams coach, and head coach, and keeps a roster spot for you because you play hard! Not a softie, or a DeSean Jackson type!

There was no head to head contact and the block was very hard, but totally clean. If Loeffler doesn’t want to get rocked, he should have kept his head on a swivel. It’s not fair how players are fined just because their opponents are bad at the game. I also think it’s ridiculous how first time offenders get these massive fines.

The issue here folks isn’t the way he hit him, but that he hit a player that wasn’t involved, and wasn’t going to be involved in the play — like the Sapp/Clifton deal. Under those circumstances, the fine was more than warranted. However, a better punishment would have been to make the guy wear the name “douchepickle” on the back of his jersey for the rest of the year. Kluwe’s a wierd dude, but his tweets are hilarious.

@purpleguy so blockers are now supposed to determine if a guy is close enough to the play or has the speed to get back into it? just stop the insanity these guys are out there running full speed and have to make decisions in milliseconds.

@purpleguy: The injured player was involved in the play. He ran down the field in a lane, preventing the ball carrier from taking a certain path. Then, the injured player started to chase the ball carrier across the field, preventing the ball carrier from cutting back. Third, if any players were to miss the tackle, the other players are available to make the tackle (unless they are being blocked).

While I agree the dixie chickens are incredibly dirty, there was NOTHING wrong with that hit. The Nice Fairy League continues to try to regulate physical play out of the game. Hell before long, they will just need to put the players in bras and panties! Keep it up GoodHell, your going to kill pro football.